The World Health Organization warned on Monday that the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, with 220 suspected deaths reported so far.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said delayed detection of Ebola cases had forced responders to “play catch-up”, warning that the situation was expected to worsen before improving.
Addressing an African Union meeting, Tedros said more than 900 suspected Ebola cases had been identified, including 101 confirmed infections.
The WHO has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola a public health emergency of international concern, citing the absence of an approved vaccine or virus-specific treatment.
Infections continue to spread across eastern Congo and into neighbouring Uganda, which has now confirmed seven Ebola cases after reporting two new infections on Monday.
Tedros warned that countries bordering the DRC remained at high risk and urged immediate preparedness measures.
He said containing the fast-moving outbreak was complicated by insecurity in Congo’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces, as well as the lack of approved vaccines for the Bundibugyo virus.
Tedros said he would travel to Congo - the epicentre of the outbreak - on Tuesday alongside Chikwe Ihekweazu, the WHO official responsible for health emergencies in Africa.
Authorities in Ituri province, one of the worst-affected areas, introduced strict emergency measures after clashes erupted in Rwampara, where residents attempted to recover the body of an Ebola victim for a traditional funeral wake.
Officials banned funeral wakes, limited public gatherings to 50 people, suspended the local football league, and ordered that burials be conducted only by specialised medical teams.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, while the bodies of victims remain highly infectious after death. Health officials said unsafe funeral practices had significantly contributed to the spread of the current outbreak.
“The virus spreads very easily during funeral practices,” said Laura Archer of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The outbreak’s first known patient died in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, on 24 April. Authorities said the virus spread further after mourners handled the victim’s body during a funeral in Mongbwalu.
Doctors and aid workers operating in eastern Congo are also facing violence, supply shortages and growing public distrust.
At least three attacks on health facilities have been reported in Ituri province, including two incidents over the weekend targeting the same hospital and allowing more than two dozen patients to flee.
The violence has revived memories of the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, during which more than 25 health workers were killed in attacks on treatment centres.
Medical officials said misinformation and denial about Ebola remained widespread among local communities.
“There is denial of the disease within the population,” said Dr Richard Lokodu, director of Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital.
Aid organisations have intensified door-to-door awareness campaigns to combat false information surrounding the outbreak.
“There’s a lot of misinformation on the ground, so that’s another epidemic by itself,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Yakub Janabi said.
Uganda’s health ministry said some of its latest Ebola infections involved close contacts of the country’s first confirmed case, including a healthcare worker and a driver involved in patient transport.
Authorities in Rwanda also introduced new border restrictions, saying foreign nationals who had recently travelled through the DRC would be denied entry, while returning residents would face quarantine measures.
The WHO has urged countries to avoid broad border closures, warning that restrictions could encourage informal crossings and complicate humanitarian access.
The outbreak is unfolding amid ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, where armed groups continue to operate across affected regions.
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls parts of North Kivu province, including areas where Ebola cases have been detected. Authorities in rebel-controlled territory have already suspended transport links between several affected cities.
United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher announced around $60 million in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
“We need to get ahead of this Ebola outbreak,” Fletcher wrote on X.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk...
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at ...
Greek students braved heavy rain to pitch tents outside parliament in Athens on Tuesday, demanding affordable housing and more education funding as...
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said late Monday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia hit at least six energy targets in deadly strikes across Ukraine, showing Moscow is unwilling to accept the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
Thousands of young Georgians leave the country each year in search of better economic opportunities, with many moving west. As questions grow over Georgia’s European path, AnewZ spoke to people who have emigrated about what it would take for them to return.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
Greek students braved heavy rain to pitch tents outside parliament in Athens on Tuesday, demanding affordable housing and more education funding as rising living costs put university places beyond the reach of some students.
A former Ukrainian military officer has gone on trial in Germany, accused of orchestrating the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions that disrupted a major route for Russian gas supplies to Europe.
Argentina has asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, a judicial body which settles maritime disputes, to halt British-authorised oil activity near the Falkland Islands, escalating a sovereignty dispute over the archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Cornell University has prohibited parties and social gatherings at fraternity houses for the remainder of the academic year following allegations of gang rape in 2024, as criticism mounts over the institution’s handling of the case.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment